AnitaGrace: Actually, I haven't rewritten everything. And it's such a biatch to replace every chapter that I'll only do the ones I know I changed for sure. Which might be quite a few, still. Love!

Elsie gave a cry and fell over. Katara jumped up and stood in the ready position while Sokka grabbed his boomerang from his belt once again.

"What's the matter?"

Aang stepped from the shadows, holding a large amount of fruit in his arms while Momo sat on his head, his tail wrapped around Aang's neck. It was Momo's eyes that had been glaring out so evilly, reflecting in the campfire's light.

Katara laughed and Sokka relaxed his weapon.

Sokka groaned. ("Food!") He ran forward and stuffed a mango in his mouth before taking all the fruits back to the fire.

Aang laughed but sat down with Katara and Elsie.

"Hello," he said to Elsie and stuck out his hand. Elsie leaned back and shook her head.

"Uh, Aang?" Katara said. "This is Elsie; she's a bender, like me. I don't think she likes to be touched. And Elsie, this is Aang. The Avatar."

"Hello," Elsie whispered. Aang waved.

Momo jumped from Aang's head onto Elsie's shoulder and peered up at her. Surprised, Elsie didn't move.

Katara laughed. "And this is Momo the Lemur."

Momo grabbed Elsie's ear with a fist and looked inside.

"I think he likes you!" Aang said genuinely. Elsie smiled at him as Momo turned her ear this way and that, trying to find her brain. Apparently satisfied with the one ear, he commenced checking the other.

Later that night, after they had all eaten and Elsie had fallen asleep and Katara had re-told Elsie's very short story to Aang and he had fallen asleep, Katara and Sokka sat on the beach with their backs to the burning embers as they looked out at the stars.

"I don't trust her," Sokka said. "Something doesn't seem right here."

"What? You think she's some sort of freak?" Katara asked sarcastically.

Sokka flinched. "No," he said slowly, trying to think what he was feeling out. "But I just feel like she's definitely not telling us something…"

"Well of course she's not!" Katara flared up. "She was probably really mistreated for her to think she's a freak! There was probably nobody in her tribe that understood! Nobody who had seen a waterbender before! They'd probably never even heard of a waterbender except for in stories. She's probably from some really small fishing village in the middle of nowhere. They probably ostracized her so bad she just had to run away!"

"Okay, Katara," Sokka held up his hands. "I get it. But we don't know that for a fact. She could be lying to us."

Katara thought for a moment.

"I really don't think she is, Sokka," she said quietly. "I really think something bad must have happened to her for her to be like this. She so young – I think she's even younger than I had thought before. Maybe thirteen of twelve."

"You think she's that young?" Sokka asked surprised. "I though she was at least your age – maybe even fifteen."

"No," Katara shook her head. "She's definitely younger than you and I think she's younger than me. Actually the more I think about it the younger I think she is."

"Well, she's definitely older than Aang." Sokka had to draw the line somewhere.

"Maybe…" Katara said. "But I can't be sure."

"Still, even if she is twelve or twenty," Sokka said. "I just don't trust her."

"Prince Zuko…"

"Yes, Uncle?"

Prince Zuko was sitting, meditating in front of a blank wall. It had been suggested to him (by his Uncle Iroh) that he try the fewest distractions possible when he meditated as opposed to all the candles and such. It might help him calm down a bit.

"I was just wondering, Prince Zuko," Iroh stepped into the room, his hands folded into his sleeves. "What you would like for your birthday?"

"I need nothing but the Avatar, Uncle," the prince said. His voice sounded as if he were just barely managing to keep his anger from showing.

Which was, admittedly, the calmest the prince ever got.

"Yes, Price Zuko," his uncle continued. "But let's say hypothetically. What would you like then? A nice floor rug, perhaps?"

The prince's voice grew testier.

"No shopping trips, Uncle," he said. "All I need for my birthday is the Avatar and after that nothing else will matter."

"Not even floor rugs?"

"No, Uncle," the prince opened up his eyes and he could keep the smirk from his face.

"Not even floor rugs."

Iroh shut the door quietly behind him. Obsessions were never healthy.

As he walked down the dark, iron corridor, he thought back to all the times they had come so close to reaching the Avatar. There had to be some factor to all this that was playing in the Avatar's favor. Some way that Iroh could change the odds in Prince Zuko's favor, so that his nephew could have what he deserved:

His honor.

What was it about the Avatar that saved him, time and again from their clutches? What was it that the Avatar had that Prince Zuko, with all his men and all his weaponry and skill did not have?

A flying bison.

Control over the four elements.

A monkey.

Iroh stopped. His eyes widened in the darkness as he realized just exactly what it was that the Avatar had and needed that Zuko did not have, but he would feel he did not need to beat the Avatar.

The Avatar had friends.

Awww... isn't that sad? Zuko has no friends. Poor little Zuko...

I think he makes a friend in the new episode, Zuko Alone. I'm so excited I rewrote most of my story! Review!